A free meal and a place to connect

Volunteers spent days in the lead up chopping hundreds of kilograms of donated vegetables for the cook-off.

The annual event, held at Brisbane's RNA showground, connects vulnerable people from the community with staff from welfare organisations over a healthy meal.

It also gives businesses and community groups the chance to provide free services such as medical care, legal advice, and accommodation information, as well as personal grooming items and clothes to the homeless or those at risk.

Mission Australia spokesperson Nicola Hazel says the Brisbane City Council funded and coordinated event goes a small way to providing support to those at risk in the community.

"The latest Census data tells us that around 7,000 people are struggling with homelessness [in the greater Brisbane area]," she said.

"Some of those people might have been sleeping rough, or bouncing between homeless services and boarding houses for many years.

"It's a chance for us to connect with those people in a really inviting environment; many people just aren't aware of the opportunities there are to engage with organisations that might be able to help improve their circumstances."

Chris, who volunteered at Homeless Connect, says he knows too well the importance of an event that is geared at supporting people living at the margins.

"I found myself on the streets through a combination of a poorly managed mental illness and drug abuse," he said.

"It can be really hard to find services when you are on the street; I'd been semi-homeless before, and I didn't know about Roma House then."

Now, having lived at Mission Australia's Roma House for nine weeks, Chris says he's taking advantage of the help he's being offered.

"I think I'll be here for a few months yet; they have a program of everything you need to get your life back on track," he said.